Sports participants and particularly track and field participants often participate without gym socks on their feet for the reasons that gym socks, particularly those having tubes that extend above the ankle of the wearer, add weight to the participant, particularly as perspiration is absorbed by the sock, and retain body heat. Added weight and heat retention are especially disadvantageous for long-distance runners. Oftentimes, the decision not to wear gym socks is dictated by these reasons rather than by comfort, since wearing athletic shoes without socks is not particularly comfortable to the wearer.
An alternative to tube socks is tubeless socks of shortlength, which generally are cut below the ankle of the wearer. These socks decrease weight and heat retention, and they are also stylish, especially for female participants in sports such as golf and tennis, in which the participant generally prefers not to wear socks having tubes extending above the ankles. However, the use of these short-length socks is less than desirable in many instances because they tend to ride or slide into the heel cavity of the athletic shoe as the wearer walks or runs. This results in discomfort and defeats the purpose of the sock. Tube or standard-length socks also tend to ride into the heel cavity of the shoe. Consequently, some wearers will not wear even standard-length socks.
Some attempts have been made to prevent or minimize the extent of riding, sliding, or working of the heel portion of a short-length sock into the heel cavity of a shoe. Some socks primarily designed for female wearers contain tassels extending from the top of the heel of the sock (the collar or opening). These tassels lay over the back of the athletic shoe and are intended to provide some resistance to the riding or sliding down of the heel of the sock into the shoe. However, because these tassels are not immovably affixed to the outside of the heel area of the shoe, the sock still tends to ride into the shoe. In fact, this riding action can occur with sufficient force to break the tassels and to continue with no resistance whatsoever. Another attempt has been to fold an extension of the top or collar of a short-length sock down over the top of a shoe. Still another attempt has been to provide an elastic neck at or near the collar of the sock to attempt to prevent slippage. These attempts also suffer from the deficiency that although some resistance to slippage may occur, slippage is not totally prevented. Furthermore, these attempts have not always worked satisfactorily.
The present invention solves the above-described problem by allowing a person to wear a sock which will not ride or slide into the shoe of the wearer. The sock of the present invention contains a flap which protrudes from the rear of the sock at or above the heel region and which can be fastened to the outside of the rear or heel region of a shoe. This flap, when fastened, completely restrains riding or sliding of the sock into the shoe.